The World of Glass – Town Deal

The reimagined World of Glass is the first of the St Helens Town Deal Projects to complete and opened to great acclaim on Saturday 12th August 2023. Thanks to the Town Deal Board the funding was secured from HM Governments Towns Fund, enabling the team at the World of Glass to create a facility fit for the future.

The museum galleries have been completely reimagined, with the spaces made appealing to a family audience, while still having plenty to interest those with a passion for glass. It still houses the largest glass blowing studio in the UK and offers live glass blowing demonstrations most days.

On entering the museum you will find yourself in a Victorian Street, complete with the stories of real people who have lived in St Helens. You can explore a working class kitchen and the children can dress up in Victorian costume. Why not have a go at pulling a pint in the Bluebell pub, or trying out the till in our Victorian shop. On leaving the cobbled street you will pass an exhibit on mining that will take you to the present day and The Dream.

The NOW gallery is a chance to find out about the town today and also to find out about different properties of glass. Use the periscope or send messages down fibre optics. Find out about natural forms of glass like those created by volcanoes, or sit at our station and see your face morph with someone else’s.

Next you will find our GLASS gallery where you can see artefacts from the origins of glass all the way through to contemporary glass today. Use our interactive stations if you want to dig a little deeper about these amazing items on display. There are star objects and interactives for the children.

As you leave the museum spaces you can play with dichroic lenses and crystals to project amazing patterns in to the frames and capture the art forever on your phone. Travelling Angel by Sabrina Cant will astound you as you leave through the clever geometric shapes of its design.

As you arrive at the mezzanine you will find one of the best contemporary glass collections. The HOLFORD collection contains pieces by David Reekie, Alison Kinnaird , Peter Layton and Sally Fawkes.

Then take another trip into the past by visiting our archaeological site Tank House and tunnels. The place that William Windle Pilkington perfected the regenerative process of making sheet glass. Opened in 1887 the tank house is scheduled monument where you can find out about the industrial process of glass making.

The Canalside garden has a children’s play area and is a great place to relax next to the Stuttgart garden. The café is situated next to the garden.

The Godfrey Pilkington Gallery is an incredible purpose built temporary exhibition space that wouldn’t look amiss in London. It houses amazing glass and fine art exhibitions. Currently on display is a heritage lottery funded project for the Borough of Culture called Creative Roots. Find out about all the amazing creative who were born, worked or studied in St Helens.

Find out more at www.worldofglass.com